Many people believe that people with hemophilia bleed a lot from minor cuts. External wounds are usually not serious. Far more important is internal bleeding. This occurs in joints, especially knees, ankles and elbows; and into tissues and muscles. When bleeding occurs in a vital organ, especially the brain, the person's life is in danger. The word hemophilia derives from two Greek words: haima, meaning blood, and philia, meaning affection. The blood of a person with hemophilia does not clot normally. He does not bleed more profusely or more quickly than other people; however, he bleeds for a longer time. Such bleeds are also called hemorrhages. His blood is lacking a protein that is needed for normal clotting. Some people with hemophilia lack a protein called factor VIII. This is hemophilia A. Others lack a protein called factor IX . Their disease is called hemophilia B.
In 1803, a Philadelphia physician, Dr. John Conrad Otto, wrote an account of "a hemorrhagic disposition existing in certain families." He recognized that the condition was hereditary and affected males. He traced the disease back through three generations to a woman who had settled near Plymouth, New Hampshire, in 1720. Hemophilia was recognized, though not named, in ancient times. The Talmud, a collection of Jewish Rabbinical writings from the 2nd century AD, stated that male babies did not have to be circumcised if two brothers had already died from the procedure. .
The Arab physician Albucasis, who lived in the 12th century, wrote of a family whose males died of bleeding after minor injuries. What causes Hemophilia in about 3 out of 10 cases, a son is born to a family that has no history of hemophilia. There are 3 reasons why this might happen: Fist it could be that hemophilia has been in the family for generations. Because no male showed signs of bleeding problems, no one knew hemophilia was present. Second, it could be that the boy's mother developed the gene with the hemophilia mutation when she was conceived.
